Cambridgeshire Holiday Orchestra Association

Christmas Course 2011

Hello again to all members and friends of Cambridgeshire Holiday Orchestra.

Our Summer course, with its record numbers of children, two orchestras and 35 hours of  music-making was great fun for all concerned but now, of course, we move on. Planning for Christmas is well under way so we hope you will like what we have to offer. We also hope that those of you who found us fully booked in the summer will be able to come and enjoy the special flavour of the Christmas course.

We are delighted that Trevor Barlow has agreed to be Course Director for the third Christmas running. If, on previous occasions you enjoyed the bagpiper and the melodion player, you will undoubtedly appreciate 'The Hogmanay Suite' - a new work commissioned by Trevor from the composer Kelvin Towse for Holiday Orchestra. It combines several traditional songs from Scotland and is scored for choir, orchestra and bagpipes, probably involving at least 150 children! We on the Committee can't wait to hear it.

There will also, of course, be all our usual bands and string groups, choirs, recorders, gamelan, plus samba bands and a 'Scrap Heap Challenge' version of Music Games. There should be plenty for all ages to enjoy.

Please do observe the stated minimum age or standard for each section - our tutors try to choose music of the appropriate level: not too easy and not too hard. Then, at the presentations the children show us what they have been doing. We don't expect perfection, although as you may have noticed the results are often fantastic!

Do join us if you can, in preparing for a New Year of music,

                 yours, Lydia Hill. Chairman of C.H.O.A.

Booking your place To book a place on the course, just fill in the booking form and send it to our bookings secretary as described on the form. More information can be found on the booking section of the website. Please note that there is a discount if you book before 22nd November! About Holiday Orchestra CHOA is a charity under the Charities Commission (no. 286214) and is run and managed by a committee of volunteers. CHOA is self-financing, income being generated from course fees to cover course expenses, and is run on a non-profit basis. We occasionally receive donations which we use to sponsor visits by professional artists and professional concerts during the courses. If you know of anyone or business who would be interested in sponsoring us in return for publicity credits, please do contact us. CHOA operates under the musical direction of Russell Keable, who has an established reputation as a conductor and composer. If you are new to Holiday Orchestra, please be sure to read the information here. If you have any queries, don't hesitate to contact Fiona at info@holidayorchestra.co.uk. Christmas Course 2010 and Easter Course 2011 Another highly successful Christmas course was held from December 27th to December 30th 2011, and directed for the second time by Trevor Barlow. Trevor has produced a detailed report on the course, including photographs of young musicians in action. Please do take a look if you were there or would like to get a feel for what goes on at holiday orchestra! The Easter 2011 course was held at St Faith's School and directed by Russell Keable. His report on the course will appear here shortly.

Future courses Click here for all future course dates.